According to a new review published by Public Health Wales (PHW), suicides among children and young individuals in Wales could be prevented through reduction of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), prevention of alcohol and substance misuse, and better education and training opportunities.
The review jointly conducted by PHW and Swansea University examined 33 cases of suicide in children and young people between 2013 and 2017 to identify the factors related to suicide.
The review has highlighted six crucial opportunities for preventing suicides in children and young people:
- Preventing alcohol and substance misuse
- Mitigating ACEs
- Management of self-harm
- Increasing the age of participation in education, employment or training
- Improving information sharing
- Improving knowledge and awareness of self-harm and other risk factors for suicide
Professor Ann John, National Lead for Suicide and Self-harm Prevention at PHW, said: "This review offers an excellent framework to begin to tackle some of the issues leading to suicide in children and young people. We need to be tackling issues such as alcohol and substance misuse in young people and making sure young people who are abused, sexually assaulted or bereaved are able to access the talking therapies that we know can support them."
